Highlights
- •Using a threshold of SBP <100 mmHg for TTA criteria is safe in geriatric trauma patients.
- •Trauma activation thresholds of SBP <100 mmHg and SBP <110 mmHg have similar under-triage rates.
- •A SBP <110 mmHg threshold is associated with a higher rate of over-triage.
Abstract
Background
The geriatric triage protocol at the study institution was modified from SBP <90 mmHg
to SBP <110 mmHg and then to SBP <100 mmHg. The purpose of this study is to evaluate
the impact of adjusting geriatric triage protocols on patient outcomes.
Methods
A single-center retrospective review was conducted on trauma patients 65 years or
older. Three study periods with different geriatric specific trauma team activation
(TTA) protocols (Group 1-SBP<90 mmHg; Group 2-SBP<110 mmHg; Group 3-SBP<100 mmHg)
were compared.
Results
2016 patients were included. There were no differences in mortality rates or need
for trauma intervention (NFTI) rates among the three groups. The SBP <100 mmHg and
SBP <110 mmHg groups had similar under-triage rates. The NFTI over-triage rate in
the SBP <100 mmHg group was lower than the SBP <110 mmHg group.
Conclusion
Using SBP <100 mmHg threshold for TTA criteria in geriatric trauma patients improves
over-triage without leading to under-triage.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 15, 2022
Accepted:
November 10,
2022
Received in revised form:
October 14,
2022
Received:
March 25,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
